Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “retarded” come from?

Retarded comes from Middle English -ed, Old English -od, Proto-Germanic -ōdaz, and Proto-Indo-European -tós, a suffix forming past participles from verbal roots.

retarded (English): Delayed; delayed in development, hindered;...

Definitions

  1. Delayed; delayed in development, hindered;...

Ancestry of “retarded”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishretardRetardation; delay; A slowing down of the tempo;...
2Old Frenchretarderto retard; to delay; to make late
3LatinretardoI hinder, delay, detain, impede or retard
4Latinrĕ-—
5Latinprōdūcō—
6Latinprō-—
7Proto-Italic*pro-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “retarded”

  • nonretarded
  • unretarded
  • retardedness
  • retardedly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →